


Never off Duty

by Miss_Inquisitive_Sci_fi



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: F/M, Hostage Situation, Hurt/Comfort, Interrupted evening off, Pike Whump, Tilly Whump, alien entities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-16 15:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18524311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Inquisitive_Sci_fi/pseuds/Miss_Inquisitive_Sci_fi
Summary: Chris knew he should have just carried on walking and gotten on with his evening, and he should have definitely learnt by now that the universe could be cruel. It was just his luck to stumble across a brutal murder, a gun-toting madman and a deadly plan to destroy Starfleet. Chris really should have kept walking. Eventual Pike/Tilly. Pike Whump.





	1. Chapter 1

Captain Pike ran his hands over his face wearily; trying to wake himself up long enough to find the energy to leave the dining room and make his way back to quarters. He’d actually decided to dine away from quarters to try and be sociable and not get buried in work, but unfortunately his data pad hadn’t stopped pinging so that plan had fallen through miserably. 

He had recently come off of a 12 hour shift which had been eventful enough to tire him out completely; that topped with another hour of work in the dining room had made this a very long day. Chris felt exhausted and was in serious trouble of falling asleep in the remains of his dinner so he turned off the data pad and willed his body to get up and leave the hall.

The Captain made his way back to his quarters and groaned when he remembered he was meant to be filling in paperwork this evening; at this rate he was going to hit the sack as soon as he dragged himself across the doorway paperwork be damned. There was nothing so pressing that it couldn’t wait until the morning.

He was halfway from the mess hall to the turbo lift when he heard someone shouting, towards an area of the ship that he was pretty sure housed engineering and science labs. Then again his internal map of Discovery was still being built. Even after living aboard the ship for weeks he sometimes got lost or tried to take a route to the bridge that mirrored the Enterprise.

Chris stopped abruptly and frowned, glancing around the empty corridors that still held the echoed shout. Curiosity more than anything moved his feet forwards towards the distant sounds, and the closer he got the more he realised that it was an argument he was hearing.

"This isn't like you, what the hell has gotten into you?" He heard the muffled voices again, and they were becoming clear enough to make out. Pike continued following the corridor round, amazed that it was empty thus far.

"You don't know what you're talking about.”

He nearly stopped and questioned why he was doing this when he was meant to be dead on his feet and heading to bed, but something about the tone of voices was off and his instincts were telling him to intervene. 

"I can't ignore this any longer." Alarmingly Pike heard what sounded like a faint scuffle. "Wait you can't just-" 

Annoyingly an announcement echoed throughout the corridors just at the moment when Pike really needed to hear what was going on in the secret conversation. By the time the voice died down he only caught the tail end of several loud clangs, then only silence. Pike rounded the corner and came face to face with several closed doors leading to various labs; he had no idea where the voices had originated from and now it was deadly quiet.

“Yes I can.”

Chris spun towards the quiet voice and stared at the closest science lab with suspicion. He hadn’t heard the other voice talk in quite some time so perhaps the argument was over, then again it hadn’t sounded friendly so who knew what had happened behind closed doors. Whatever the case Pike had come this far and thought it best to make sure no harm had come to anyone, one was never really off duty especially as Captain. 

The Captain palmed open the door controls and walked into the lab space, eyes scanning every inch of the room for signs of conflict. He soon spotted an unfamiliar figure working away studiously at one of the computer consoles. Said crewman glanced up at him surprised by the interruption and then looking even more shocked as he clocked exactly who was interrupting him.

Pike studied the crewman carefully for any odd behaviour, but so far he had acted like any other crew member meeting the Captain for the first time: a little jumpy, hesitant and surprised. Chris glanced round the room taking in every detail of the space, and more importantly secretly examined the area for any signs of disturbance. He was also at a loss to explain why there were no other crewman in sight. He was sure that this had been the room the voices had come from, but nothing looked out of place and there were no signs to suggest anyone else had been here. Was it possible he had misheard?

“Can I do something for you Captain?” The crewman asked nervously, having stopped work his hands were hovering over the keyboard. 

Chris catalogued the level of anxiety and thought the crewman was perhaps a little too nervous for a first meeting, then again he wouldn’t be the most nervous crewman Pike had met over his career. Still Pike decided to follow his gut to investigate further so he waltzed into the room and held out his hand to greet the crewman. “We haven’t met what’s your name Lieutenant?”

The Lieutenant spluttered like a fish out of water and was far too slow reacting to the question and his Captain’s proffered hand. In a flash the crewman pulled himself away from the terminal and plastered a smile over his face. “Lieutenant Jenkins Sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Pike shook the kid’s hand firmly and was thrown by the strength in the crewman’s grip; gone was the nervous crewman from before. The Lieutenant was now suddenly confident and held himself in a strong stance and beamed from ear to ear. It was almost like talking to a different man.

Chris kept his face neutral and smiled at the crewman, withdrawing his hand first. “Nice to meet you too Jenkins.”

He glanced round the space making it obvious he was examining every inch of it for something. "I was passing and thought I heard an argument; wanted to make sure everything was alright." Chris explained and watched Jenkins’ face carefully for any tells.

The Captain thought he caught a flash of panic cross Jenkins’ face before it was expertly eradicated, but it was gone so fast that Pike had to tell himself he hadn’t imagined it. The Lieutenant was definitely worried about something so Pike had been right to trust his gut, something was off in here. Luckily having served with someone who masked emotions all the time, Chris had gained a certain knack to notice the slightest of changes in someone’s behaviour. If he could read Spock he could read Jenkins.

"I haven't heard anything." Jenkins sounded puzzled and gestured round the empty room.

Pike managed a strained smile and began to walk round the areas he hadn't seen, frustratingly he didn’t spot anything even remotely out of place. He turned his attention to the Lieutenant's screen and frowned when he saw ship schematics up on his screen, specifically the ventilation system.

He walked up to the console and studied it in detail, noticing Jenkins stiffen and logging that reaction as suspicious. "What are you assigned to Lieutenant?” Pike asked innocently enough, an interested gleam in his eye.

Jenkins visibly forced himself to calm down and plastered on a fake smile. "Im looking into some sensor problems, I work for the engineering department." He clarified.

Pike nodded and on the surface at least accepted the answer. It could be the truth but he had no way of knowing that and Jenkins was acting a little shifty for someone who was just carrying out duties innocently. Every fibre of the crewman was screaming wrongness.

"I see, very good Lieutenant." Pike wandered away from the terminal keen eyes scouring the room once more. Just when he was about to give up something caught his eye; he stiffened as he spotted blood over in the corner.

His eyes followed the trail and he nearly keeled over in shock as he noticed a man’s hand that looked like it was attached to a very dead body. Chris realised the reason he hadn't seen it before was because the body had been covered with cloth and equipment, however now the blood was morbidly trickling out into view.

Pike closed his eyes and forced his reactions to still and his limbs to loosen up naturally. Whoever that poor crewman was had been murdered and the most likely suspect was Jenkins. He needed to get help here now. The Captain plastered a fake smile on his face and turned back round to address Lieutenant Jenkins, wary that he was most likely talking to a cold blooded murderer.

Chris wandered back over to the console as casually as he dared and discretely scanned Jenkins for weapons; he didn't see anything but that didn't mean he didn't have a concealed weapon on him or had hidden it in his work area. The Lieutenant for his part hadn't moved and was watching Pike carefully.

Pike thought about rushing the Lieutenant for all of 2 seconds. There were any number of ways that could and probably would go wrong. Pike needed a security team or at least a phaser, he was not prepared to deal with a dangerous killer who was most probably armed. 

"Well I will leave you to it then." Chris smiled tightly and turned to leave, trying not to make it too obvious how desperate he was to get out of the room. 

Sadly the Captain only made it half way towards the door when the chilling command came and he heard the familiar sound of a phaser whirring up. "Don't take another step Captain.”

Chris stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes with resignation, he had almost made it out but something he had said or done had clearly tipped Jenkins off. _Dammit._

"Turn around." Jenkins ordered firmly, coldly. Gone was the fake warmth of earlier.

The order sent a chill down the Captains spine. He slowly turned on the spot and was exceedingly careful not to make any sudden moves. Chris wasn't surprised to find a phaser pointing at his chest although he did feel a stab of fear in his chest when he saw it was set to kill.

Pike watched Jenkins carefully who was scrutinising his latest problem. "You saw him didn't you?" Jenkins asked.

So it had been his reactions that had tipped Jenkins off, Chris had probably been staring at the location of the body for too long. Still there was no use lying now the cat was out of the bag, or rather the phaser. Pike had heard an argument earlier he had just never expected it to escalate to this level of violence.

"Is he alive?" He too dropped the friendly act, treating the crewman in front of him the way he would any armed man.

Jenkins' face hardened and he glanced half heartedly over to the body. "No, but I think you already expected that.”

He had been expecting the answer but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. Chris gulped and felt his body get fidgety. His fight or flight instincts were kicking in and his system was flooded with adrenaline; his body was screaming at him to move but his mind was holding him in place knowing he had no chance of outrunning a phaser.

"What now?”

Jenkins seemed to consider that question for some time and Pike could see he was trying to figure everything out in real time; this situation was running away from him and that was something Pike could potentially work with.

Jenkins eventually came to a decision. "Hands up and get over here." He indicated away from the door with the phaser.

It wasn't exactly the plan Pike had been asking about but it was at least letting him know Jenkins didn't have his shit together, and hopefully he would remain distracted. Pike held both his hands up in surrender and moved to the indicated position already eyeing up weaknesses in Jenkins stance and thinking of how he could cross the distance without getting shot.

When Chris reached the indicated position he was going to try and distract Jenkins, the problem was he didn't get that far. Horrifyingly the door swished open and Ensign Tilly strolled into the room head lost in a data pad. 

"Sorry to int-" Her voice trailed off weakly as she glanced up and saw what she had walked into, specifically her Captain with a phaser pointed at his chest.

Pike’s heart pounded madly, going from zero to a hundred in seconds; reaching a crescendo when Jenkins’ phaser switched targets. The Captain was mortified to see the weapon swing round to the Ensign and the trigger started to depress. Chris didn’t think about what he was doing he just acted. He jumped the short distance to Jenkins and knocked the Lieutenant’s hand away, hopefully just enough for the shot to go wide.

The Captain put aside Tilly’s scream of terror and hoped to god she hadn’t been hit by the lethal blast. Pike’s body reacted on instinct and his training kicked in when he grabbed the Lieutenant’s gun arm and twisted, wanting to get control of the weapon before Jenkins could fire wildly again. Sadly he hadn’t counted on the gunman reacting so quickly.

Jenkins sucker punched him in the gut with his free fist, effectively stealing all of the Captain’s breath with the force of the blow. He followed up the powerful strike by pushing Pike away from him bodily, tripping the Captain’s foot perfectly in sync with the shove. Chris lost his footing entirely and collided with the ground hard, sprawling out with a groan: winded and ribs aching. The adrenaline helped mask the rough treatment so he shook away the dazed feeling and started to push himself to his feet; that was until a command from Jenkins stopped him in his tracks.

“Stop! Or I’ll kill her.”

Pike remained half kneeling and half crouched, allowing his body come down from the sudden adrenaline surge. He glanced up and saw the phaser was yet again pointing at Tilly who was gaping from Jenkins, the gun and her Captain in shock. Jenkins’ patience evaporated and he took a threatening step forwards _towards_ Tilly.

“Alright, alright!” Chris placated the gunman urgently, holding his hands up in surrender to show he wasn’t a threat any longer. The last thing he wanted was another crewman needlessly dead; this situation had already gone from bad to worse to a complete shit show.

Tilly managed to snap her jaw closed and started to recover from the shock, fear turning to anger in an instant. “Evan what the hell are you doing?” She hissed fiercely taking a minute step towards the gunman.

Evan, as Tilly called him, shot at her feet in warning. Pike flinched and so did Tilly, her fear coming back and survival instinct taking over. “If you move again, I’ll kill you.” He threatened coldly.

Tilly’s face screwed up with immense anguish and Pike finally clocked on that Tilly had called him Evan, meaning she knew the gunman personally. _Christ_ this must be hard to swallow. “What happened to you?” She asked sadly.

Chris was very interested in the answer too but regrettably Jenkins was not in a sharing mood. "We're not talking about me. All we're going to discuss is how you two remain alive." He snarled dangerously, pointing the gun between Tilly and Pike.

Pike gulped hard and locked eyes with Tilly, his fear and confusion was mirrored in her eyes. Chris had no doubts now that Jenkins would kill them both without a moment's hesitation, the million dollar question was why? 

The room fell into a chilling silence whilst Jenkins thought through his next move. Eventually he ordered. "Both of you I want you kneeling on the floor, facing the door with your hands on your heads.”

Pike and Tilly were still struggling to keep up with the change of pace so stared dumbly at him, which did not go down well. "Now!" He yelled pointing the weapon at Pike’s head.

Chris dragged himself to his knees and faced the door, bringing his hands up to rest on his head just as Jenkins had ordered. This was tactically a bad position to be in, they wouldn't see what Jenkins was doing behind them and couldn't react quickly kneeling like this. He supposed that was exactly why Jenkins was forcing his hostages into this position.

Jenkins indicated for Tilly to join the Captain so she nervously made her way over and copied Pike’s submissive position. Chris tried to catch her eye and throw her a reassuring smile but she was completely distant; mind obviously whirring and processing that someone she knew was capable of this.

Pike felt the phaser rest against the back of his head and resisted the urge to tense up. "Lock this room down." Jenkins ordered.

Pike glanced over his shoulder at the gunman in surprise. "Unless you want more unexpected guests. I’m shooting the next person I see walk through that door." Jenkins promised.

That made Pike’s decision for him, as much as he didn't want to be locked in here at least this would keep others out. "Computer lock down engineering lab 2 Alpha. Security override Pike Gamma 3.”

They all heard the locking sound echo throughout the lab and the computer acknowledged the request had been carried out. Jenkins backed away from his hostages and relaxed a little when the door was locked completely. The gunman moved to the side of the kneeling officers and pointed his phaser between them.

"If either of you move I'm going to kill you. Do you believe me?”

Pike could feel Tilly tense beside him. He stared into Jenkins cold dark eyes and saw only determination there; no remorse or hesitancy. Hell yeah. Chris definitely believed him; he was looking into the eyes of a killer.

"Yes." they both answered in a quiet voice.

Jenkins nodded happily then walked behind them out of their view. Pike only relaxed when he heard the footsteps walk back towards the work station and heard Jenkins get back on the computer. Pike turned his attention to Tilly and studied her carefully for signs of injuries; she seemed to be more aware of her surroundings but still looked incredibly pale.

"Ensign are you alright?" He whispered.

She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt his arm brush hers. Tilly looked at him anxiously and nodded nervously. "I'm not hurt Captain, it's just…"

Pike could see it in her eyes. "You know him." He finished for her.

She glanced up surprised then nodded mutely. "Evan's one of my friends..." she sniffed. "And he almost killed me.”

Pike felt sorry for Tilly he really did, what could you tell someone in a situation like that? "I'm sorry." He offered sincerely, knowing words weren’t ever going to be enough.

She smiled sadly then looked over her shoulder timidly, gazing at Evan forlornly. "Its like he doesn't even recognise me." She whispered. "Honestly I barely recognise him.”

Pike looked at Evan too and got thinking; he remembered what he’d overheard in the argument earlier with someone saying Evan hadn't been himself. People didn't just wake up one day and become someone else. What had happened to Jenkins to change him so much?

"Are you saying he’s different?" Pike asked Tilly, aware that having someone who knew the real Evan Jenkins was invaluable now.

Tilly scoffed. "Sir, Evan Jenkins is one of the most caring people I know. He's kind, gentle, shy and would never hurt anyone." She argued fiercely.

Pike nodded grimly, that was the exact opposite of what Jenkins had displayed with Pike. "So it's like he’s a different person then." He surmised.

Tilly nodded fervently, getting where he was going with his line of thinking. "Exactly like that yes.”

Pike observed Evan out of the corner of his eye carefully. "So we just need to figure out what could have changed him like this."


	2. Chapter 2

It took no time at all for things in the science lab to get weird, well weirder than they had already been so far. Pike and Tilly were playing the part of model hostages when Jenkins began to mutter repeatedly. At first Chris thought the Lieutenant was just talking to himself as he worked but the more he and Tilly listened the crazier Jenkins sounded. It was like he was having a conversation with someone else. The problem was except for Pike and Tilly, Jenkins was the alone.

Pike frowned when the voices grew louder. ”Please stop this, I don’t want to hurt anyone." It was Jenkins but it didn't sound like the man Pike had gotten used to.

In an instant the voice changed and laughed darkly. "Its a little too late for that.”

Chris glanced sideways at his companion and saw she was as concerned and confused as he was. It sounded like Jenkins was having some sort of mental break, either that or he was having a full blown argument with himself, complete with different voices. The mystery was getting stranger by the second.

The softer voice returned. “I won’t let you.”

Both Pike and Tilly flinched when Jenkins slammed his fist against the work surface, shattering one of the screens to bits. “You can’t stop me!” He screamed.

The Captain snapped to the sound instinctively, glancing over his shoulder just in time to see the screen smash into a thousand tiny pieces. Sadly Jenkins chose that moment to turn his enraged glare on his captives. The Lieutenant caught Pike looking over his shoulder and Chris gulped when he saw something snap in him.

Jenkins picked up the phaser, growled and fired a warning shot that landed right next to Pike’s knee. Tilly yelped in surprise and Chris flinched away from the heat of the fatal shot, wincing as sparks scorched straight through his uniform pants. 

“I told you to face the wall!” Jenkins yelled.

Pike forced his gaze away from the burnt scorch mark on the floor and stared directly at the wall as instructed. His heart was fluttering madly, reacting to the danger of death. Chris took several deep breaths and clenched his fingers together tightly, trying to still his trembling muscles. That was the problem with adrenaline surges, when you were unable to make use of it the crash back down to normality was like going cold turkey off a drug. 

Chris thought he was tense until he stole a glance at Tilly. She looked downright petrified and was as stiff as a board. Pike wanted to reassure her but was well aware Jenkins was already pissed with him, he couldn’t expect the gunman to bother with a warning shot next time. With that in mind they both waited on tenter hooks for whatever Jenkins had planned for them next. Eventually they heard him mutter angrily and storm away, stomping to the other side of the room. 

Pike really wanted to look over his shoulder and see what Jenkins was up to; there were several clangs which could have been drawers opening and shutting and the sound of someone searching for something violently. The only thing stopping him from peeking a look was the smoke that was still drifting up from the scorch mark, a stark reminder of what could happen to him if he disobeyed a second time.

It turned out Chris wasn’t in the dark for long. Jenkins’ footsteps suddenly walked towards them and he wandered into Pike and Tilly’s line of vision, dumping several lengths of wire onto the floor at their feet. Pike’s stomach dropped nastily as he started at the wire then Jenkins’ furious expression.

“I need to get on with things and you two are stopping me from doing that.” He glared from the two of them and the phaser held loosely at his side. “So we’ve got two options here.”

Pike and Tilly held their tongues and glared at the gunman. “Option one I kill you both now.” 

He toyed with the phaser in his hands and scrutinised their reactions, Pike remained impassive and stared straight ahead not willing to give the murderer the satisfaction. “But you might be useful.” Jenkins finally decided, sounding more than a little disappointed.

“So option two.” He indicated the wire on the floor. “You stay out of my way, don’t make me angry and you might get to continue breathing for a little while longer.”

Jenkins glanced from Tilly to Pike. “So what’s it going to be?”

Pike was sick of the cavalier attitude and disregard for life. He was also sick of not knowing what the hell was going on with Jenkins. “Who are you?” He pointedly ignored Jenkins’ question, outrage and curiosity overriding the need to hold his tongue.

Jenkins levelled a thunderous expression at him so Pike could see he wasn’t exactly pleased with the change in direction. “Do you have memory problems Captain? I’m Lieutenant Jenkins.”

Tilly surprised both of them by speaking up confidently. “No you’re not, I know Evan Jenkins and you’re nothing like him.” 

Pike clenched his hands together tightly and tensed for a violent reaction. Jenkins predictably turned his murderous expression to Tilly, but then he did something completely unexpected: he laughed. “Oh I see, you know him.” 

He stared at Tilly thoughtfully and seemed deeply amused by something. “That must have been why he was screaming at me when I nearly shot you.”

Pike and Tilly both breathed in sharply. “Where is Lieutenant Jenkins?”

Jenkins looked at them both and grinned, tapping the side of his head. “He’s in here, where else?”

Pike and Tilly were both as confused as each other. Had Jenkins suffered a mental break, was he suffering from memory less or was there some kind of alien entity at play here? Honestly Pike wouldn’t be surprised if it were any of those things; Discovery had completely destroyed any expectations he had of normality. A ship that travelled across a highway full of mushrooms, a Doctor back from the dead and an officer who was a Klingon trapped in a human’s body. Nothing shocked Pike anymore. 

“I needed a body.” Jenkins clarified when he was done being amused with his captives’ blank expressions.

The Captain felt his blood boil, how could anyone be as offhanded as this? “So you took his?”

Jenkins pleased smile disappeared and he pointed the phaser at his captives again. “We’re not talking about this anymore. What you need to know is I am not the Evan Jenkins you know and he can’t help you. I will not hesitate to kill either of you if your usefulness runs out. Are we clear?” He threatened, completely void of emotion.

Pike’s blood ran cold as he stared into the eyes of a murderer and absorbed the menacing words. Sadly Chris knew a serious threat when he saw one, and Jenkins was not kidding around. When they noticed Jenkins’ annoyance at being kept waiting the Captain and Tilly both nodded mutely.

"Up." Jenkins commanded. 

They both nervously got to their feet, wary of the phaser and the way it tracked their movements steadily. Pike struggled to keep his hands clasped behind his head and watched Tilly have similar problems. He shook the sleep from his legs and stepped closer to Tilly, feeling the need to stay close for his comfort as much as hers.

Jenkins handed out a coil of wire to Tilly. “Tie him up.” He pointed at Pike.

“What?” Tilly squeaked in shock and recoiled from the proffered item.

The impatient displeasure was quick to resurface and Jenkins’ aimed the phaser at Tilly, expression clouding over like a dark storm. Pike intervened quickly before things got too out of hand. “It’s alright Ensign.”

Tilly’s shocked gaze glanced from her Captain to the wire and Jenkins, after spluttering a little more she nervously took hold of the material. Pike brought his hands down in front of him and crossed his wrists, encouraging Tilly over before Jenkins got too impatient.

“No, no.” Jenkins warned dangerously. “Behind your back Captain.”

Pike glared at the gunman but turned around all the same, crossing his hands the same way and presenting them to Ensign Tilly. He felt her fingers brush against his hesitantly. “How do I?

Chris cottoned on that Tilly had clearly never done anything like this before and didn’t know where to start, working with knots was hardly something people did on a day to day basis. The penny soon dropped that he was about to guide someone through tying him up, this was really not how he thought his evening off would go.

"Start looping round my wrists, then cross the wire up and over every few turns." He instructed gently trying to make this less difficult for her.

Pike could feel Tilly’s hands shaking as she started looping the wire around his wrists; after just 2 loops Jenkins interceded. "Tighter, much tighter.”

Pike felt Tilly freeze so gave her some further reassurance. "Do as he says Tilly.”

She sighed deeply then pulled harshly on the wire making Pike wince involuntarily. "Sorry." Tilly muttered miserably and continued looping the wire tightening it when Jenkins gave her a warning glare.

"Not your fault." Pike ground out, resisting the urge to flex his fingers under the tight wire. He could already tell these were going to be impossible to slip and had no give whatsoever. The only saving grace was that his circulation mercifully seemed to be intact. 

After a few more loops around and over his wrist’s Jenkins looked satisfied. "That's enough, tie it off.”

Pike felt Tilly tie off the knot and retreat backwards. He then sensed a new presence at his back and grunted when rough hands pulled on the wire, making sure the binding was tight. Sadly he also felt the knot being placed further out of reach which was another potential escape route burned.

The Captain recognised a strong grip land on his shoulder and stumbled forward as he was steered away from the exit, grunting in surprise and dropping to his knees heavily as Jenkins kicked the back of his legs without warning. Chris winced when his knees slammed into be ground painfully; he would have fallen flat on his face except for the controlling hand on his shoulder. 

Chris straightened up but then he felt the phaser graze against his neck and stilled. "Don't move." Jenkins whispered threateningly in his ear and then the presence disappeared.

Pike heard footsteps retreat then Tilly yelped and grunted, Chris clenched his fists and locked his jaw helplessly. He wanted to look round and see what was happening to Tilly but that would only land them both in more trouble, so with great restraint he stared straight ahead. The struggle became more difficult when he heard further signs of discomfort and realised Jenkins must be securing the Ensign, none too gently either. 

The only thing stopping Chris from acting was his fear for Tilly’s wellbeing. Jenkins had already proved to be short tempered and who knew who he would choose to lash out at for further disobedience, so the Captain kept staring straight ahead. His shoulders tensed with displeasure the more he heard Tilly’s discomfort and Jenkins' rough treatment.

Eventually the sounds stopped and Pike heard two sets of footsteps approach. He watched Jenkins guide Tilly forward, past his kneeling position, and left her standing with her back to a support beam. 

His concerned gaze swept over Tilly looking for signs of fresh injuries. There didn't seem to be anything on the surface but her wrists already looked red and the wire looked painfully tight. Pike felt what little control he had over his temper slip away as Jenkins smiled nastily, there was no need to enjoy other people’s pain. Whoever it was in Evan’s body was a complete sadist.

Pike knew what was coming next when Jenkins turned his attention to him. "Get over here." He ordered gruffly indicating to the support beam with his phaser.

With great difficulty and immense balance Pike managed to get himself up off his knees and just about kept his footing; he made his way over to the support beam. When Chris got close Jenkins grabbed his arm roughly and yanked him the rest of the way, slamming him up against the surface powerfully. Pike groaned when his head connected painfully with the harsh metal, vision flashing violently and adding another bruise to his already pounding head.

Chris tried to reposition his hands finding it more than a little uncomfortable the way they were trapped between his lower back and the support beam. Jenkins noticed the attempt and held Pike’s body against the beam and levelled a warning glare at him. Chris got the message loud and clear: Don’t move. Jenkins studied both his captives suspiciously then moved to collect a long length of wire. Without a word he started looping it round Tilly, Pike and the support beam.

Jenkins started by looping it under each of their arms and pulled on the wire sharply slamming both of them up against the beam forcefully. Tilly and Pike winced and tensed under the continued assault, Jenkins would wrap the wire over their upper arms or chests and then would brace against the support beam and yank on the material hard. 

With each go round the pressure on their chests increased and Chris felt hopeless when he could no longer even move his hands. They were completely trapped between him and the beam, and he and Tilly had been forced ram rod straight against the thing. Pike reluctantly admitted that Jenkins sure knew how to tie things up securely. 

The damn thing was so tight that Pike was sure he and Tilly were going nowhere fast. There was no give at all in on his wrists or in the wires tying them in place. It really didn't help that the wire cut into their muscles painfully every time they moved to get to a better position or struggled.

Jenkins stood back and admired his handy work, pulling at the wire to make sure it was as tight as possible. When he was happy he slapped the Captain lightly on the face, mockingly. “Don’t go anywhere now.”

Pike glared darkly at him as he wandered over to his work station and continued working on his secret project; something that was making Chris more nervous with every second he spent in Jenkins company. He was a violent, murderous, antagonist with access to the ship’s systems. That could never be a good thing.

Chris glanced over his shoulder as far as his neck would strain to get a feel for how Tilly was doing, he could sense how stiff she was behind him and was a little concerned she had been quiet for so long.

"Are you alright?" He whispered gently, wary to keep out of Jenkins’ earshot.

Tilly jumped at his voice then turned her head to try and look at him. They just about managed to glance each other out of the corner of their eyes. "I'm okay Captain." She replied bravely.

Pike could see the turmoil in her eyes, her fear for their lives and her friends and the echoes of pain from the rough treatment. Yet she was still standing strong and she was here with him, Starfleet officer Sylvia Tilly.

"Good." He nodded, thinking maybe a bit of a morale boost was in order. She was looking to him to get her through this to give her strength. He slipped into confident Captain Pike seamlessly. "We're going to get out of here Tilly. Do you believe me?”

He watched some of her fear melt away and marvelled at the abhorrent trust she had in him, taking his word as given. He felt humbled that she followed him without question.

Tilly nodded fiercely, determination rekindling inside her. "Yes Sir." 

Pike felt some of his tension bleed away into their surroundings as he studied the Ensign. Tilly was holding it together but more than that she was facing up to the tragedy of a friend in trouble, amazingly falling back on her training and trust in her Captain even in a situation as screwed up as this. Chris had to admit he was impressed, at her age not many people would be able to put all their fears aside and focus on the job in hand; especially not after all the Discovery crew had already been through. Their resilience and teamwork was something to be admired and he was honoured to be allowed into the family, to be a part of something great. 

Knowing Tilly was more or less okay, Chris’ attention turned to Jenkins and he sighed sadly. "And maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to save Evan too.”

***  
No matter how hard Tilly and Pike struggled against the wire bindings they didn’t budge an inch; annoyingly if anything they actually got _tighter._ For all their efforts all they managed to do was tire themselves out and rub their wrists raw. Pike had now almost lost all feeling in his hands and he was pretty sure Tilly was in a similar position.

The Captain’s attention soon switched from their hopeless bound situation to the reason he and Tilly were in such a position: Evan Jenkins. Not that it was him anymore not really, but with a lack of a name Pike had to call him something. Jenkins was now fully absorbed in his work and hadn’t paid any attention to his captives since he had left them tied to the damned support beam. 

Chris’s gaze dropped to the floor and he felt a cold chill wash over him when he spotted the pool of blood, following the trickle to the dead crewman’s hand just like he had earlier. Pike hadn’t even seen his face, so he didn’t know who was lying there dead: who had been disregarded like rubbish. He felt enraged and the sudden spike of anger caused the Captain to throw caution to the wind. 

He addressed the murderer in an unforgiving tone, forgetting the golden rule to not interrupt. "Why are you doing this?” 

Pike noticed Jenkins’ shoulders tense and he turned to look at Pike and Tilly, like he had just remembered they were there. Chris saw frustration in the man’s eyes but overall he looked calmer and lacked the murderous intent from earlier. Surprisingly Jenkins actually answered even if the answer sounded crazy.

"Because the federation must be destroyed.” Jenkins soon returned to his work, losing interest in Pike and Tilly. “Even if I have to take it down one ship at a time.”

Chris never understood people who wanted an end to the federation; it was so far from what he stood for. Something that united so many races across the cosmos was nothing short of beautiful, even if the system did have it’s flaws. They were a peaceful organisation committed to exploration but it was becoming more common to come across people who want them obliterated.

”Why?” Pike asked genuinely curious.

Jenkins typed one final command into the keyboard and moved away from the console. He leant back against the workstation nonchalantly and faced his captives head on. Jenkins glared boldly at Chris and more importantly the badge on his chest. "That's a longer conversation, but let's just say I stand against the federation and everything it stands for.”

The computer beeped behind Jenkins drawing Pike’s attention to it. He noticed the same schematics he had seen earlier and began to wonder what Evan was planning for the ship. Chris hadn’t missed the way Jenkins had alluded to destroying Starfleet’s ships one by one, the sudden leap to a ship-wide threat made Pike deeply concerned about Jenkins’ level of access. 

"What are you doing to the ventilation system?”

Jenkins smirked. "You'll find out soon enough _Captain._ " 

Pike bristled at the mocking tone. He was sick to death of half truths and vague lies, why couldn’t Jenkins give them a straight answer for once and drop the bullshit act? Another thing that was making Chris’ blood boil was the gunman’s cavalier attitude. Jenkins was enjoying causing suffering and misery to everyone around him, how could anyone or thing treat life so carelessly was beyond him.

Tilly surprised both of them when she spoke up, her concern for her friend outweighing her anxiety and hesitation. “Why did you take Evan’s body?”

Jenkins cocked his head in interest and studied his captives. Suddenly he pushed away from the work station, picking up the phaser absentmindedly and stalked towards Pike and Tilly. Chris automatically tensed up when the weapon was once again trained on him.

“I chose Evan Jenkins because he was quiet and weak, someone who could be controlled easily.” Jenkins sneered nastily.

Pike was beginning to struggle to keep his fury contained and under the surface. Not only was this entity controlling poor Evan, forcing him to watch murder and cruelty. Now he was insulting his character, had he no remorse?

“He’s not weak.” Tilly whispered sadly, undeterred by the close proximity of a weapon.

Jenkins smirked and leaned into her personal space. “He can’t even stop me hurting his friends.”

Without warning he brought his hand up and slapped Tilly round the face harshly, and her neck whipped round and she yelped out in shock. Pike struggled against the bindings with anew determination, yelling obscenities at Jenkins.

“You bastard!” He growled, letting the reigns off his temper so his anger flew free.

Jenkins brought the phaser up and pressed the barrel right against Pike’s head, stopping both of their struggles effectively. Jenkins looked from Pike to Tilly and pressed the weapon against the Captain’s head harder, earning a grunt of pain in return. “See, nothing.” He mocked.

Pike wished more than anything for the use of his hands. He would happily pound the entity into the ground right now phaser be damned.

“Lieutenant Spock to Captain Pike.” 

The smug grin was wiped off Jenkins’ face in an instant. The entity lost the cocky stance and his mood sank, panic flooding his features. He moved in front of Pike and held the phaser steadily against his forehead.

“What does he want?” Jenkins asked nervously, glancing up at the ceiling as if Spock was going to materialise any second.

Pike gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to call the man an idiot. Instead he held his tongue just about. “I don’t know.”

It genuinely the truth, he had no idea what Spock wanted with him. Jenkins however didn’t look convinced as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Really?”

Pike let the anger drain from him and relaxed his muscles, needing Jenkins to believe him. “Really.” He confirmed.

Jenkins glanced up at the ceiling again and came to a decision. “We’ll ignore it.”

Alarm bells rang in the Captain’s head; Spock was not one to let a matter lie. The universe surprisingly had impeccable timing as that was the moment Spock’s voice rang out through the space again.

“Lieutenant Spock requesting Captain Pike.” Most people wouldn’t have noticed the concern and urgency in Spock’s voice, but Pike knew Spock better than most.

Jenkins swore loudly and looked round the room wildly. He rounded on Pike again. “What happens if you don’t answer him.”

Chris seriously thought about lying but then did he really want Spock tracing his location and walking in on this? If he could get a message to him however…

“He’ll come looking.” Pike answered grimly.

Jenkins scrutinised him and looked like he was going to hit something or rather someone. For a moment Pike thought it could go either way then Jenkins made his decision and glared at both of them. He aimed the phaser at Tilly’s head and glared warningly at the Captain.

“One wrong word and she’s dead.” He threatened darkly.

Chris glared at the man but nodded all the same, understanding the threat clearly. Jenkins indicated silently for him to go ahead so Chris made his voice as neutral as he could manage and answered. “Pike here.”

There was a pause for a few moments and the Captain was a little worried that Spock had come looking already. Then his science officer’s steady voice echoed through the room. “Captain, apologies for disturbing you off duty. I have some matters I wish to discuss and I was hoping you were available this evening.”

Pike closed his eyes and resisted the urge to laugh out loud, cursing his luck. He had wanted Spock to open up to him for weeks and the one time he reached out Chris had been tied up by a murdering entity with a phaser held to his head; Spock always did have impeccable timing.

“No need to apologise Spock.” Pike took a deep breath and hoped to hell he was right about who Spock was currently sitting with. “I’m going to have to take a rain check though. I have a prior engagement with Commander Burnham.”

Pike held his breath as silence followed, thankfully for only a beat. “Understood Captain, we’ll talk another time.”

Spock was so good at hiding his emotions that Chris doubted for a second that his science officer had noticed anything off, but he had to believe Spock knew him well enough to not let this lie. Thankfully Jenkins was convinced and his confident grin returned. After beaming happily at both of them he skipped back to his work without a care in the world, panic of the interruption forgotten completely.

Meanwhile in Spock’s quarters on the other side of the ship the Vulcan science officer was still staring blankly at the communications panel, head tilted to the side in confusion. He turned slowly to the other occupant in the room who mirrored his puzzled yet stoic expression.

“Apparently you have a prior engagement with the Captain.” Spock stated.

“I don’t.” Michael frowned deeply and got to her feet, concern flashing across her face. “Something’s wrong Spock, the Captain didn’t sound right.”

Spock pondered the matter for a few moments then glanced from the closed communication line to Michael. “I agree.”


	3. Chapter 3

In a flash Michael crossed the room to stand by her brother. On auto-pilot she reached out to the control panel; entering her command override codes when prompted. She pulled up Captain Pike’s position on the ship and frowned deeply when the data pinged on screen.

“What is it?” Spock queried over her shoulder.

Michael scrolled through the log at speed. “He’s been in an engineering lab for a little over an hour, stationary mostly.”

Burnham’s frown deepened and she clocked Spock take a step forward, the slight tensing up in his shoulders, the way his breathing stilled. To the majority of people Spock had no reactions but that was completely inaccurate; the truth was most people just didn’t know where to look. Spock’s reactions were minute by nature but for someone who grew up on Vulcan it was almost like her brother was holding up a flag waving: _I’m worried!_

“I’m going to bring up the security feed.” She suddenly announced, letting Spock’s anxiety slide unchecked. She started to bring up the feed and almost swore when she was met with endless error messages.

“Something’s blocking the feed to the lab.” Michael muttered grimly; brining up command consoles as she worked in an attempt to bypass the lock out.

“That is troubling.” Spock added.

_Wow, that was the understatement of the year._

Any doubts that they had about overreacting vanished when Michael finally managed to break through the feed block, and the security camera footage popped up on screen. Michael gasped when the situation unfolded: Captain Pike and Ensign Tilly tied back to back, with a crewman holding a phaser in their general direction.

Out of all the scenarios Michael had been expecting she hadn’t even contemplated a hostage situation. No wonder why the Captain had sounded strained over the call; anyone would with a gun to their head. Michael shared a concerned look with her brother and saw his eyes widen imperceptibly as he took in the situation.

Michael took a deep breath and recomposed herself, putting aside for a second that two of the most important people in her life were stuck in a life or death situation. She would be no use to either of them like this. When Michael had shaken her demons away she efficiently opened up a private secure channel to Security Chief Nhan. “Commander Nhan this is Burnham, we’ve got a hostage situation in engineering lab 2 Alpha. Assemble a security team and meet on deck 2.”

“Understood, we’ll be assembled in 5.” Nhan replied immediately. “Any information on the hostages?

Michael closed her eyes not quite believing the names about to tumble out of her mouth. “The hostages are Ensign Tilly and Captain Pike.”

***  


Jenkins had soon gone from working to muttering in no time, talking to himself again, well more accurately Evan and the entity were conversing. Pike now understood that the softer tone belonged to the real Evan Jenkins, and the other familiar more dangerous voice belonged to the murderous entity.

Said entity that had joined with Jenkins was an enigma. How something like that even happened was completely beyond Pike. The ship had stringent measures and regulations in place to detect countless pathogens, and all crew members were scanned when entering and leaving the ship. This kind of situation shouldn’t be remotely possible and at the very least shouldn’t have gone unnoticed for so long. It took a colleague noticing Evan’s change in behaviour for this entity’s true nature to come to light, along with it’s worrying motivations to destroy Starfleet.

_"Why wont you let me help you, what happened to your people was a tragedy."_

"Shut-up." 

_"Starfleet aren't the evil thing you make them out to be.”_

"Starfleet destroy everything in their path, so I'm going to destroy them.”

_"I cant let you do that.”_

"I thought we'd already had this demonstration. You can’t stop me.”

Pike’s head span wildly as he witnessed the verbal tennis match. Evan’s facial expression spasmed with each sentence, switching from a pained expression to a snarling angered one. It was agonising to watch and was almost like seeing someone being slowly torn apart, being slowly split in two. Chris wondered absently how much more of this madness Evan’s mind could take; there were 2 beings occupying a body that was only built for one.

"He's still in there." Tilly whispered sadly, trembling as she watched her friend getting torn to bits.

The Captain suddenly had a brainwave, a desperate attempt to save lives. "Do you think you could get through to him?" He asked gently.

She sniffed then the panic kicked in. "What if he makes good on his threat?”

Pike had thought of that too and whilst it wasn't a nice end they didn't have many options here. "I'm not going to order you to do this, it could be dangerous yes." He felt her stiffen behind him. "I do think it's the best chance to save Evan though, break through to him and get him help.”

He heard Tilly sigh tiredly and let out a shaky breath. "I'm willing to take the risk Sir I just don’t think it'll work.”

Pike wasn't surprised by her willingness to sacrifice her own life. She was a Starfleet officer through and through, willing to put her life on the line for her crew and her friends. Unsurprisingly though she had doubts, it was Pikes job as her Captain to see past her weaknesses and encourage her strengths, giving her the belief that she could accomplish anything she put her mind too.

"If anyone can get through to him it's you." Honestly only a friend could right now. Orders weren't getting through the entity’s control so they required a deeper connection.

Tilly nodded a few times, embracing his words and let her Captain’s belief in her run untethered. "I'll try Sir.”

Pike acknowledged her choice then crossed his fingers and prayed that Jenkins wouldn't just kill them out of turn. This was risky trying to draw Evan out but he truly believed it was their only option; the entity was never going to back down or be negotiated with.

"Evan?" Tilly called out tentatively.

Jenkins froze on the spot, his entire frame tensing harshly. Pike watched his reactions carefully and felt hopeful when Evan stayed quiet and saw his muscles relax. Sadly less than a second later Jenkins shook himself out of it and turned around angrily, pointing a finger at Tilly. "Stop it." He warned.

Pike wanted to jump in and take the heat for himself but sadly Evan was only going to respond to Tilly. With reckless abandon Tilly tried to get through to her friend again. “Evan I know you’re still in there can you hear me?”

They both stiffened when Jenkins grabbed the phaser and stalked forwards angrily, the Captain was already reprimanding himself for suggesting such a suicidal plan. That was until Jenkins came to a stop and Evan clutched his head like he was in terrible agony. “Stop talking.” He managed to grind out.

Tilly pushed on her advantage. “Evan, it’s Tilly your friend. I need you to remember who you are.”

Jenkins clutched his head harder and he almost stumbled to his knees. “Stop!” He screamed.

“Your name is Evan Jenkins, you grew up on a farm in Texas with your two little brothers and mum and dad, you joined Starfleet because you wanted to see the stars, you’re a good man Evan and you can fight this.” Tilly implored watching Evan fight with the entity in his mind.

Pike held his breath and waited on tenterhooks for Evan or the entity to win their battle of wills, whatever Tilly was sparking in Evan’s mind it looked to be working, the kid was fighting back. Instantly something changed in Evan’s expression and he opened his eyes, taking his hands away from them.

Chris barely recognised the man’s face; it was like looking at a totally different person. Where his face had looked hardened and angry before, it was now soft and kind: _human._ All of a sudden Evan scrunched up his features in agony and tears rolled freely down his cheeks. His body remained stiff and unresponsive, and Pike didn’t miss that the phaser was now pointing vaguely in their direction.

“Evan?” Tilly asked hopefully.

Evan’s tearful gaze flicked to her. “It’s me Tilly.” Gone was the aggression and yelling of earlier, this Evan sounded kind and gentle and so very, very sad. “I’m so sorry.” He guiltily apologised, glancing from his captives to the dead body discarded in the corner.

“It’s not your fault Evan, I know you would never do anything to hurt anyone.” Tilly implored.

“I did hurt someone though, these hands did.” He looked down at his frozen hands and was disgusted to see the phaser pointing at Pike and Tilly.

He yelled out and scrunched up his face. “I can’t stop him, he’s too strong.”

Pike could see Evan had been fighting to get control of his limbs and has thus far been failing, he needed to fight harder. “You can fight this Lieutenant.” Pike encouraged.

“I don’t think I can.” Evan cried out and clutched his head again like it was splitting open.

Chris saw they were running out of time. “Cut us free and we can get you help.” He instructed quickly before Evan lost the battle raging in his head.

Sadly Evan didn’t hear him, not the real Evan anyway. Jenkins screamed loudly and dropped to the floor clutching his head; wildly scrabbling at his mind. Pike and Tilly starting struggling against their restraints with anew strength wanting desperately to help the stricken officer. Jenkins suddenly stilled and then the screaming stopped. Pike’s heart dropped when he watched Jenkins get to his feet with a cold expression on his face.

The man’s flaming angry eyes sought Pike; his body was shaking with murderous rage. Evan wasn't home anymore. “You.” Jenkins spat and without warning slammed the phaser into Pike’s head.

The Captain cried out surprised by the sudden and unexpected assault, falling to the side uselessly. He slumped against the restraints and felt them constrict nastily around his chest; even though they were causing him pain the wires were the only thing keeping his feet beneath him. Chris heard Tilly grunt in pain and realised his falling over must have constricted the wires around her chest too; he quickly fought to right himself only for the phaser to smash into the side of his head again.

Chris’ vision flared white and he slumped over for a second time; he felt his head split open and blood began to trickle down his face. Pike heard a grunt slip past his lips and he felt Tilly struggle against the restraints holding them both in place. If the wire hadn’t been so tight he would have crashed to the ground and most likely passed out, instead he sagged uselessly against them wanting nothing more than to keel over and stop the world from spinning.

Pike breathed harshly and groaned, doubling up as much as possible when Jenkins’ fist crashed powerfully into his ribs not once but twice.

“Stop it please!” Tilly screamed desperately, her hands reaching out behind her fiercely trying to grasp onto Pike’s hands.

Chris coughed with his head bowed, head fuzzy and lungs screaming for oxygen. Eventually his system kicked in and he managed to draw in sharp breaths. Pike heard footsteps walk away from him and he managed to drag his head up and open his eyes, worried when he couldn’t see Jenkins. He stared over his shoulder and saw Jenkins leaning into Tilly’s face holding her jaw in a crushing grip.

“You tried to trick me.” Jenkins sneered holding the phaser up and pointing it against her head.

Pike’s heart almost stopped. “Wait.” He rasped urgently, still trying to get his breath back. “I ordered her to get through to Evan, kill me not her.” Pike spluttered desperately, regretting getting Tilly involved in this. 

He hadn’t thought through the consequences properly and look what had happened. She had agreed willingly but that didn't make it any easier to watch someone in his command threatened. Jenkins kept the phaser in place but locked eyes with Pike. Chris watched the thoughts flicker through the other man’s mind and could see he was struggling not to pull the trigger. Eventually the man snarled, released Tilly’s jaw and strode back over to Pike, resting the phaser against the Captain’s head.

“You’re more trouble than you’re worth.” Jenkins snarled and Chris said a silent prayer.

He was sure the entity was going to pull the trigger, hell Jenkins was sure he was going to pull the trigger until they were all interrupted by a sharp knocking at the door. Pike almost jumped out of his skin and he noticed that the entity almost pulled the trigger completely in response to the interruption.

Jenkins looked confused for a moment then he flew into full on panic mode when the knocking sounded again followed by a shout. “We know you’re in there Lieutenant.” Jenkins glanced from the still closed doors to Pike and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And we know what you were planning.”

After the latest announcement Jenkins turned to the computer screens and his expression fell when he saw the power had been cut to his systems; whatever he had been working on with the ventilation systems had come to an end. Pike felt sweet relief flood his body even though he still had a phaser pressed against his head. 

Even if the worst did happen and he and Tilly died here, the thing that had taken control of Jenkins wouldn’t get far and couldn’t enact his plan to murder the crew. Pike glanced over his shoulder to Tilly and saw she was still shaken up but as relieved as he was that someone knew about their predicament, and had stopped the entity from doing something irreversible.

"Why wouldn't they just come in?" Jenkins muttered suspiciously scrutinising Pike and Tilly.

Chris knew why immediately, and Jenkins figured it out a moment later glancing up to the security cameras then to the phaser pointing at the Captain’s head. "They saw I was about to kill you." Jenkins cackled.

Pike glared at the man readily, he just didn't get the joke. Jenkins sobered when he saw how annoyed his captive was, he still grinned like an idiot though. "Sorry I just think its quite ironic. My almost killing you has saved my life.”

Pike wanted to roll his eyes, but just about resisted the urge to. Jenkins had regrettably sussed out that the security team wouldn't breach if they couldn't ensure Jenkins wouldn't pull the trigger. Wasting no further time Jenkins shot out the cameras in the room and shouted to the door. "If anyone breaches this room I'll kill both of them.”

"No one’s coming in." The voice from the door assured them. Pike thought it could have been Commander Nhan but the door was distorting and muffling the owner too much to be sure. 

Jenkins watched the doorway suspiciously for some time, only lowering the phaser when he heard footsteps walking away. He stormed back over to the terminals and angrily smashed it to pieces when it refused to respond to his commands, clearly there was no way he could use it to carry out any of his plans.

Chris took shuddering breaths until his chest stopped spasming and constricting so badly; he was sure he would feel the aftermath of that vicious beating for days to come. 

”This is over, you see that right?” Pike decided to pile on the pressure, knowing that with the security team pressing outside and him from within then the entity would crack.

Jenkins sneered at him. “Nothing's over yet.”

Pike threw him a disbelieving glare. "There's no way out of this for you, and you can't carry out your plan. You should cut your losses and leave Lieutenant Jenkins’ body.”

Jenkins slammed his fist against the work surface. "Its not that easy!" He yelled, storming over to his captives. "It takes days to merge and un-merge with someone.”

Pike watched their captor pace erratically fingering the trigger on the phaser. Suddenly he stopped and rounded on them, a huge smile plastered over his face. “You’re finally going to be off use.”

Jenkins reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife, moving to slice through the wires holding Pike and Tilly together. Pike was surprised by the sudden change in situation although relieved he was able to breathe freely again. He hadn't realised how tight the restraints had become but now they were cut free he could feel most of his muscles had gone dead under them. 

Chris stumbled away from the support beam and almost lost his footing, forgetting how to support himself away from the bindings. He didn't get very far before Jenkins grabbed his and Tilly’s arms and lined them up side by side. Pike swayed with the sudden movement and shut his eyes as his head span wildly and the unpleasant nausea returned.

Jenkins held Pike's and Tilly’s upper arms together, tying a length of wire around them tightly. Pike and Tilly jostled under the rough treatment; they were both sick and tired of being tied up. When Evan was finished he pushed them both forward causing the pair to stumble. Pike glanced sideways at Tilly and realised Jenkins had effectively turned his captives into a human shield.

“You’re going to walk me off this ship.” He instructed as he continued to push them towards the door.

Pike shook his head in disbelief. “They won’t let you leave this room let alone the ship.”

“I’ve got hostages.” Jenkins tapped the phaser against the side of Pike’s head.

Jenkins cut off any response from the Captain by opening the door and shoving his captives out, remaining close behind them to keep himself covered from the security team. Said security team snapped their guns up and immediately trained them on the threat.

"Halt!" The security team shouted as one, stepping forward to block off the exit to the corridor completely.

"Back off!" Jenkins shook his hostages and held his phaser against the Captain's head. "Or I'll kill them.”

The security team remained where they were just like Pike had said they would. "This is over, give up." Pike ground out, annoyance bleeding through as he was shaken round like a rag doll. He had been trying to find any give in the bindings on his wrists since this nightmare began but sadly was having no luck. They were too damn tight. 

"I don't give up." Jenkins snarled. "If I can't complete my mission then survival is all that matters. I want out of here." He accompanied the command with a further shake to both their bound bodies.

"That's not going to happen." The security team and Pike responded adamantly at the same time.

The security team stood resolute, the two sides in the corridor at a complete stand still. Pike felt his pulse begin to pick up speed as he watched the security team try to get a clear shot; he wanted to help out but being tied to Tilly made this much more difficult. Jenkins had two targets to cover him and two chances to kill somebody.

Jenkins lost what little patience he had left and decided to call their bluff. "Alright you want to play it this way, I have two hostages so I can kill one to show how serious I am.”

The phaser moved from Pike’s head to Tilly's and he started a countdown, calling their bluff. "You've got 5 seconds to start listening to me.”

“5."

_No, this wasn't right._ It was supposed to be him, Jenkins had the gun against his head not Tilly’s. 

“4."

Pike struggled manically, trying to turn around and face Jenkins, knock his hand away, do anything to stop this disaster from happening.

“3."

Jenkins gripped Pike’s arm firmly keeping him facing forwards.

“2.”

Tilly let out a choked cry as the phaser collided with her head.

“1.”

Pike yelled and bucked against Evan. Tilly closed her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

It was true what people said; in the slimmest moment between life and death everything slowed to a stop. The whine of the phaser vibrated and increased until it reached a crescendo and stayed, Tilly’s eyes remained squeezed tightly shut, Pike was staring at the phaser poised to steal a life with his mouth hung open in a shocked outcry, Jenkins’ grip remained steady and his lips curled up in a hateful snarl. Time was still.

The seconds ticked by and Chris realised that 0 should have come and gone, the trigger should have been pulled, Tilly’s life should have been snatched away. Yet all three of them were still stuck in that moment. Chris studied Jenkins and saw his body freeze and go rigid, saw his features slacken into something gentler and less enraged, saw his eyes brighten and emerge from behind a furious rage. This was Evan, _the real_ Evan.

Pike felt a glimmer of hope swell in his chest, Evan had broken through but for how long remained to be seen. "Evan, you've got to stop him. He'll kill Tilly if you don't." Pike implored. 

He tried again to break free of the grasp, but was frustrated that the powerful grip on his shoulder was still strong enough to stop him from turning or getting Tilly out of the way of the line of fire. Whatever control Evan had managed to reclaim he still didn’t have full control of his body, proven by the fact that he still had his phaser pressed against Tilly’s head.

With visible effort Evan forced himself to look at the Captain, guilt scrawled deeply into every inch of his features. Chris saw the tears begin to fall freely down the Lieutenant’s face; he felt immense pity for Evan. The entity was cruelly making him watch his own friend’s murder.

“It’s taking everything I’ve got to stop him pulling this trigger.” Evan cried aloud. His whole body trembled and shook wildly, and his face scrunched up in agony as the battle for his mind commenced. 

Pike glanced at the phaser anxiously and saw Evan wasn’t lying, it was like his finger was spasming. Chris morbidly realised that any second the trigger would be depressed and Tilly would be dead. “I can’t stop him.” Evan ground out in defeat.

The Captain held Evan’s eye and urged him to carry on fighting, this couldn’t end like this. “Just put the gun down Evan. We can help you, this doesn’t have to happen.” He heard a muffled cry from Tilly when the phaser pressed into her head harder. She was unable to accept that Evan, her friend, was centimetres away from murdering her.

Evan forced his eyes open wearily. Chris felt his heart drop when he saw how tired Evan was; how little fight he had left. It was taking everything he had just to talk to them and to keep his phaser trigger at bay, he was almost spent. 

“I can see his mind, he has no mercy. He will kill you, Tilly, everyone on this ship. He won’t stop.” Tears were freely running down Evan’s face and it contorted in agony as he fought for dominance with every ounce of strength he had; edging the phaser away from Tilly’s head inch by inch.

The entity was winning the battle. “Just hold on a little longer Evan!” Evan shook his head in denial, losing the battle inch by inch. “Fight it!” Pike screamed desperately and pulled violently against the iron-clad grip, he was watching Evan’s control slip and the entity return. There was only so much the Lieutenant’s mind and body could take, and this must be pushing him to breaking point.

"I can't watch him kill my friends." Evan promised resolutely and said his goodbyes. “I’m so sorry Tilly.”

The Lieutenant squeezed his eyes shut and released his hold on Pike. Evan screamed hauntingly and used everything he had left to take control of the gun for a few seconds, turning the phaser on himself and quickly pulling the trigger before the entity could react.

“No!” Pike yelled in shock, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him.

Tilly cried out aghast, screaming and sobbing after hearing the sickening sound of the phaser bolt impact against Evan’s head. She crumpled like a puppet having it’s strings cut, her legs giving way completely under the crushing weight of loss, her eyes locked on Evan’s falling body. Their arms were still tied together so Pike fell to his knees when Tilly dragged him down. He watched Evan’s corpse hit the ground with a dull thud, and the kid’s lifeless eyes looked up unseeing forever.

The Captain’s mind reeled, everything was just white noise. His brain refused to function, his body responded to nothing. One minute Evan had been alive and fighting against the entity, focussed on not hurting his friend, fighting for her life. And the next, he was just gone. Pike felt Tilly’s body tremble beside him and heard her wounded sobs.

Chris absently felt hands manoeuvre him and Tilly up from the floor where they had crash landed, cutting the wires that bound them together then the wire that held their hands securely. Pike barely felt any difference between having his hands tied and untied, they felt numb and unwieldily as he flexed the blood back into his limbs. He watched the security team secure the scene and the weapon out of the corner of his eyes but paid them no attention; all his concern was solely on Tilly who was not coping well.

As soon as her hands were free Tilly scrambled over to Evan’s body, collapsing across his chest and cradling his hand in her own. Chris scooted over to the Ensign and got a good look at Evan’s corpse up close, his head wound was as gruesome as predicted after a phaser bolt at such close range. Pike didn’t want Tilly to have this image of her friend as her last memory.

Not knowing what else to do Pike placed his hand on Tilly’s shoulder in a supporting grip, hoping to pull her away from the body before she stared too closely at his head. It turned out he didn’t need to guide her away at all. As soon as Tilly felt a warm hand on her shoulder she clung to the touch jumped round and leapt into her Captain’s chest, clinging to him in a tight bear hug and hung on with everything she had. Chris almost lost his balance but just about kept them both from crashing backwards. He felt her press her face to his chest, hands bunched up in his shirt as she cried her eyes out into his shoulder.

Chris let her cling to him, and his arms came up around her back instinctively to console her and make her feel safe. Her broken sobs cut through to his soul and he felt his heart ache for her, watching a crew member sacrifice himself for you was one thing, losing a friend was heart breaking. Especially like this, turning the gun on himself as the final act to protect a friend. 

Pike gently pulled Tilly away from Evan as a medical team sealed off the body, he knew it was because of the entity but Tilly didn’t need to think about that now, she had seen enough. The Captain glanced round the corridor and spotted Burnham and saw her horrified expression; the worried way she was looking at Tilly.

Michael walked over slowly and made her presence known, calling out her friend’s name softly. Tilly latched onto the voice and Pike reluctantly pulled away from the comforting embrace when Tilly leapt into Michael’s arms. It was only natural really because Tilly and Michael were room mates and best friends, yet he couldn’t help but feel alone now and dreadfully cold like he would never be warm again.

Michael clung to her friend fiercely and whispered soothing words into her ear, cocooning her from the perilous world. Michael glanced over Tilly’s shoulder and met Pike’s eye. ‘Are you okay?’ She mouthed, a deep frown etched into her troubled features.

Chris honestly didn’t know what he was but he slipped back into being Captain Pike seamlessly, automatically really. It was funny how in stressful situations that was the first thing his mind did, rebuild his armour. Pike managed a weak smile and nodded at Burnham, heartened by her concern for not only her friend but also for him.

The Captain dragged his body to his feet wearily and moved away from the body. Somehow he found his way to sick-bay, but he was a little suspicious that he couldn’t remember the journey or even agreeing to come here. His muddled brain supplied Spock’s name for blame but he had no memory to back it up and besides he couldn’t even find Spock to question him. 

Everything from the corridor, after the corridor, before the corridor was a blur and all muddled up in his mind. It was like it was all happening at once, or over and over or never at all like some weird dream.

Chris only remembered flashes. He watched Evan’s body get zipped up and contained in quarantine, he watched Tilly go into shock with Michael consoling her and he was pretty sure they ended up sedating the Ensign as it went silent behind her curtain. After that he sat through Doctor Pollard’s examination as she poked and prodded every inch of him; he watched endless scans pass by and watched as reports came and went.

He was pretty sure Spock came by and spoke to him but he really couldn’t be sure, his memory was playing tricks and the timeline was sketchy at best. Also he vaguely remembered visits from Saru and Nhan and nodding mutely when they reported that the ship was secure, and the damage the entity had inflicted had been undone.

The entity had been about to release a compound into the ship’s systems and had been pretty damn close to pulling the trigger on all of them, it had been some impressive work getting round the security over rides. Department heads were already at work adding new measures to make sure nothing like that was ever possible again.

Chris had been distant as hell during the briefs and everyone had probably noticed, it was unlike him to be affected this badly. His mind was not behaving like it should and it was really starting to piss him off. He had handled stressful life or death situations before and managed to remain objective in the heat of things, always being the Captain first and the human Chris second. What was different this time?

Due to his mind partially shutting down Pike was on autopilot throughout the briefings and treatment; he couldn't even feel his head wounds and impact injuries. He distantly remembered Doctor Pollard looking at him with concern and assigning him and Tilly at least a 12 hour rest period before they returned to duty, mentioning that they were both exhibiting symptoms of severe shock.

It was funny how strange the mind was. In all his years serving Pike had never been rattled like this, felt like he wasn’t there in his brain anymore like this. The whole experience was shaking him up and he hated not being in control of his memories or his emotions. He had no idea what had triggered such a severe reaction but Doctor Pollard had assured him there would be no lasting effects, as unpleasant as this was it was normal. The fact that Pike didn’t usually have to experience shock after some of the shit he had seen was the abnormal thing.

Pike felt exhausted soon after the Doctor’s briefing and surprisingly let himself be pushed back onto the bed, not resisting when the Doctor ordered him to stay the night. He was completely spent and closed his eyes, his muscles were still trembling from the after shock of the adrenaline. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t wipe the final image of Evan from his mind, couldn’t forget the moment he saw that he had failed to save the Lieutenant, the lifeless glaze over his eyes as he fell to the ground with a hole in his head.

Pike’s mind thundered ahead like a train out of control as people continued to come and go around him. All he could think about was what he was going to tell Evan’s poor family.

***

Chris groaned and held his head in his hands, running numb fingers over his face wearily. He stared at the document on his computer and re-read it again, still unhappy with the words and knowing they lacked _something_ he just couldn’t put his finger on. He drained the remains of his drink revelling in the way the amber liquid scorched his throat, warming his insides and helping to brush aside some of the chills that had clung to him ever since Tilly had left his arms. 

Pike saved the document and closed it, promising to work on it again in the morning so he could get the wording right. Evan’s family deserved something more personal than what he had written so far; he had to get it right after what Evan sacrificed.

Chris moved to the comfort of the sofa and felt his eyes drooping for the umpteenth time that night. He hadn’t been this damn tired or emotionally drained in a long time and this was not a welcome return. He had people give their lives over the years but never like this, he wished there had been another way. Evan Jenkins was a hero and he would be remembered as such.

His damaging thoughts were interrupted by a door chime ringing, signalling the arrival of a visitor. The Captain got to his feet, and took a few steps closer to the door. He called out for whoever it was to enter, forgetting completely he was dressed only in his sleep clothes.

Pike shouldn’t really have been that surprised to see familiar red hair cross his threshold, bouncing boundlessly with each step. Tilly entered his quarters and quietly stared at the floor at first. She came to a stop and nervously glanced up, took one look at the Captain in his sleep clothes and turned about sharply to leave. “Sorry Sir, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

_Dammit._ Now he’d scared her off by looking so informal, that was the last thing he wanted when she clearly needed someone to reach out too. Pike reached out and grasped her arm gently. “Tilly wait.”

Tilly let him turn her round and sniffed, peeking out from behind her curls with reddened tear-stained eyes. Clearly she had been crying, _a lot._ “Would you like to come in?” He asked kindly.

She looked like she wanted to bolt out of the door still but eventually the need to have some company won out. Tilly nodded slowly and followed him in. Pike led her through to the living area of his quarters and stood awkwardly near the sofa, unsure where to stand or what to really do with himself. Why was it always Tilly that made him feel like an anxious school boy, that made his mouth dry and tied his tongue in knots?

Tilly’s own awkward nervousness had been replaced by curiosity as she stared round the unfamiliar surroundings, taking in the quirks of her Captain’s personal quarters. Chris felt a little self conscious under the scrutiny until Tilly found his face again. “I was just writing a note for Evan’s family.” She blurted out.

Pike blinked, surprised by the interruption. “They’ll like that.” He admitted.

She smiled at him and reminisced. "He was such a good friend I just wanted them to know that.”

Pike swallowed the lump in his throat. "He was brave and fought for his friends fiercely, I wish I'd met him earlier.”

He was a tad taken back when Tilly laughed lightly. "Sorry it's just I remember when he was so excited that you were posted as our Captain, he kept asking me questions about you and said he couldn't wait for his chance to meet you." She tailed off sadly.

Chris lost the ability to form a coherent sentence and his tongue tied itself in knots. Tilly’s words had thrown him off balance. Overwhelming guilt flooded his soul, the one time he had met Evan Jenkins had been the man’s last. Life could and had been cruel.

Tilly looked at him sadly then held her head in her hands despairingly. “What am I doing here? I shouldn’t be interrupting you like this.” She was backtracking towards the door again so Pike followed.

“You’re not interrupting Tilly, really.” He promised.

She stopped in her tracks like a deer frozen in the headlights and scrutinised his expression. “You’re sure?” She asked uncertainly.

He took a step into her space, eyes drawn to her face. “I’m sure.”

Suddenly Tilly flung her arms round him just like she had down in the corridor, unexpected but not unwelcome, familiar but not. Chris stumbled back in surprise but soon reciprocated the desperate embrace, throwing himself into the moment with reckless abandon. Tilly sniffled into his chest so he brought his arms up to encompass her warmly; he held her tightly as sobs racked her body. Chris let her have this moment and just held her in his arms, shushing her cries, rubbing comforting circles into her back. The Captain recognised what Tilly needed in this moment, no judgement no questions; she just needed someone to be there for her whilst she accepted the misery.

Eventually he felt her push away from his chest lightly, and her sobs quietened to silence. Chris moved his hands to her arms and began rubbing comforting circles absentmindedly into her tense limbs. She rested her hands on his chest near his heart and gazed up into his face. He became aware that Tilly’s face was getting closer and she was beginning to focus on his lips.

Chris watched and frowned as more tears escaped to fall freely down her face. Without really thinking he reached up to brush them away gently. Tilly leaned into his touch and looked into his eyes blissfully. Everything was quiet, everything was perfect in that frozen moment. 

On a spur of the moment Tilly closed the distance between them and planted her lips on his. She started softly at first, steady with her movement and gentle with her lips. It didn’t take her long to increase the pace, to bring desperate need into the mix. Tilly grasped Chris’ sleep shirt tightly beneath her fingers and leaned into him with vigour, breath quickening along with her assault on his lips.

Chris froze, his mind cleared of all active thought and his muscles stiffened. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t reconcile what was happening. His mind went into shock and he was completely unprepared for such an action, Tilly was kissing _him._

Tilly picked up on his rigid reaction and pulled away embarrassed and mortified. “Oh my god, that was so inappropriate I’m so sor-“

Finally Pike’s mind got into gear and he leaned down to capture her lips before she finished her apology, keen to let her know he wanted this too, she had just caught him off guard. Tilly moaned into the kiss and immediately clung to him again, her reluctance forgotten entirely as her hands ravaged his hair and shirt madly.

Chris deepened the kiss and ran his hands over Tilly’s face, hair and neck wanting to get as much of her as he could. He moaned deeply when her tongue slid into his mouth, and Tilly teased his lips with a playful bite. They lost themselves in each other as the kiss picked up in pace and they both became as desperate as one another to connect, to get as close as they could to another human being.

Eventually they both pulled back for air and let their foreheads rest against each other, panting out of exertion, shock, passion, _untethered emotion._ Pike squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in Tilly’s scent, scolding himself already for giving into his base emotions when she vulnerable like this. No matter how much he wanted too do this it wasn’t right, not like this.

She sensed the hesitance too and leaned back from his warmth sadly. “Not the right time?” Tilly asked wistfully. Pike was pleasantly surprised at her astute observation and attitude.

Chris traced her face with his fingers, memorising the feel of her features and revelling in the softness and warmth of her skin. Somehow he found the strength to pull his hands away. “Not the right time.” He confirmed.

Tilly pulled herself together and pulled out of Pike’s embrace a little more. Chris loathed the loss of warmth; it threatened to take his mind back to that corridor. He shook himself free of the haunting memories and focussed on the here and now, on Tilly. Pike pulled himself together by following Tilly’s example, he was well aware they were both emotionally compromised right now.

“What the hell was that?” Tilly questioned, brushing her lips with her hands as if feeling the ghost of the kiss.

Pike almost laughed. “Just two people seeking comfort, wanting to feel alive.” He told it as it was.

Tilly looked at his lips for a few moments and then the shock kicked in, her features morphed into disbelief. “But you’re the Captain.” She squeaked and looked mortified as it all clicked into place; the consequences of what she had done.

Chris sighed heavily and shook his head. “No, tonight I’m just Chris.” 

Tilly glanced at him oddly but eventually seemed to accept what he was telling her; this was not Captain Pike she was with now. She suddenly had a thought. “Can I stay here tonight?”

He was a little surprised by the question but was not unwelcome to the idea. Unfortunately she took his reaction the wrong way and started pulling out of his personal space. “Sorry, this is wrong and I’m just so messed up right now. It’s just Michael’s on duty all night and I don’t want to be alone but that’s just me being stupid…” She babbled trying to disentangle herself from his grip.

He didn’t let her get far. “Tilly stop.” She stopped talking and looked up at him tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone either.” 

Seeing someone blow their brains out to save your life was something which would screw anyone up, and he had to admit he was a little off sorts this evening and Tilly clearly needed to unload. Thankfully Tilly didn’t need much convincing.

“Okay.” She meekly agreed and nodded.

Pike poured them both a stiff drink and invited her over to the sofa, pulling out some blankets so they could both get comfy. Tilly felt awkward at first but soon loosened up as they drank and began talking.

“So, tell me about Evan.” Pike smiled kindly.

Tilly’s mood lifted immediately and her face had the hint of a grin like she was remembering a particularly funny memory. “It’s a long story Sir.” She explained.

“Chris.” He corrected tapping her forearm playfully. 

“ _Chris._ ” She parroted back and frowned, the name foreign to her.

“I’m not going anywhere, talk away.” He teased.

She laughed and true to her nature started her story at light-speed. “Well I met Evan in the academy, well I say met we literally bumped into one another…”

Pike listened to Tilly recount her friend’s life and all the memories they shared. He hugged her when she reached for him, held her when she cried, and embraced her as they both fell into an exhausted slumber. For once letting themselves just be human.

_Finis_


End file.
